Parma, OH Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)

29, Beekeeping, sets Parma's residential hive limits by lot size: division (a) caps the keeping or harboring of bees, including honey bees and bumble bees, at a maximum of two hives on a minimum lot of 6,000 square feet, rising to no more than four hives on a half-acre lot, and the rule applies only in residential zones. For that calculation, the ordinance counts sidewalk areas, tree lawns, and any other area behind the street curb line within the public right-of-way fronting the property as part of the lot size.

Division (b) requires every hive to sit at least five feet from the property line and directs that the bees' flight pattern be steered away from a neighbor's entrances and lines of foot or vehicle traffic. Division (c) requires a water source on the premises, also set back at least five feet from the property line, which keeps foraging bees from congregating at a neighbor's pool or birdbath. Division (d) bars neglected bees as determined by the County Inspector, and division (e) creates a rebuttable presumption: if an owner or occupant fails to remove a natural or man-made hive or nest, whether it belongs to honey bees, bumble bees, wasps, yellow jackets, or hornets, within three days after the Building Commissioner serves notice, that failure is prima facie evidence the insects are being kept or harbored on the property. 02, and the ordinance counts each day of a continuing violation as a separate offense.